'Xt7tfb Bife on t^e (J^odke 



a day or a night in its solitary and noble com- 

 pany. I learned afterwards that it had been given 

 the name " Old Pine," and it certainly had an 

 impressiveness quite compatible with the age 

 and dignity which go with a thousand years of 

 life. 



When, one day, the sawmill-man at Mancos 

 wrote, " Come, we are about to log your old pine," 

 I started at once, regretting that a thing which 

 seemed to me so human, as well as so noble, 

 must be killed. 



I went out with the axemen who were to cut 

 the old pine down. A grand and impressive tree 

 he was. Never have I seen so much individuality, 

 so much character, in a tree. Although lightning 

 had given him a bald crown, he was still a healthy 

 giant, and was waving evergreen banners more 

 than one hundred and fifteen feet above the earth. 

 His massive trunk, eight feet in diameter on a 

 level with my breast, was covered with a thick, 

 rough, golden-brown bark which was broken into 

 irregular plates. Several of his arms were bent 

 and broken. Altogether, he presented a time- 

 worn but heroic appearance. 



32 



